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Capstone Parade |
By the early 20th century, thousands of people were
leaving the grime of Welsh mining villages and the hustle and bustle of
industrial towns like Birmingham to spend
a few days experiencing a completely different lifestyle by the sea.
It is often cold and windy in Ilfracombe and the seas on that coast
can be rough and grey but so much effort was put into providing amusing
and diverting activities for visitors that their short breaks passed all too quickly. Walks, day trips, bathing and sight-seeing were
interspersed with the ample and regular meals provided in all the
boarding establishments of the town.
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It was Ilfracombe's proud boast that Robert Martin was the
only mounted Town Crier in the country. Originally from Crediton, Robert
had worked on a farm just outside Ilfracombe before serving in the 17th
Lancers. His day job was furniture-making but each evening in the
holiday season, he would ride around the town past all the hotels and
boarding houses, pausing to call out details of trips and attractions
for the following day. |
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Robert Morton - Town Crier
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Setting out on
a coach trip |
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Ilfracombe had some most enterprising local
photographers.
Each morning they visited all the departure points of the various trips on
offer and photographed the holiday-makers before they set out. On their
return, their photograph, developed and printed, was presented to them on postcards,
ready to
send home to friends and family.
It is very hilly around Ilfracombe and the men and children would
have been expected to dismount and walk up the hills to "save the
horses". They also walked down steep downward slopes - the only
brakes on the coach consisted of a metal "shoe" which the
coachman, from time to time, dragged under the wheel nearest to him! |
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The enterprising photographer strikes again! These happy
trippers are just about to set out on a famous paddle steamer - the Britannia.
This vessel, built in 1896, was owned by P and A Campbell and worked
the Bristol to Ilfracombe run for most of her career. |
| Embarking on PS Britannia |
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She served in World War 1 as
HMS Briton and in World War 2 as HMS Skiddaw, assisting in the Normandy landings. She made her last
voyage in 1956. |
Back
to Issue 13
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